Aurora Design Assistant in action.
Zebra Technologies (Zebra) has been selected by I.D.E.A. S.r.L (Intelligent Development Engineered Applications) to help drive the industrial automotive supplier’s efficiency and productivity levels within its quality assurance inspection processes. By adopting Zebra’s Aurora Design Assistant software, I.D.E.A. can inspect 200 different brake discs using a single machine vision system that incorporates the software.
With the new solution, I.D.E.A. can inspect every angle of a brake disc surface without stopping the production line, inverting or rotating the disc. Engineers can also create algorithms for analysis, implementing loops, and reconfiguring steps dynamically to ensure the best performance results. Additionally, the user can create multiple sets of parameters for each camera which can then have customised image colour-maps to best match the user’s needs.
“The Aurora Design Assistant is the right tool for our multiple camera system because it can spread the load over the available central processing unit (CPU) cores and synchronise all elements of the system with ease,” said Marco Pistilli, Project Manager, Machine Vision System and Software Developer at I.D.E.A. “Zebra’s software allows our developers to focus more on achieving our desired accuracy and performance goals instead of worrying about coding.”
Ensuring high-quality levels regarding surface quality is integral in car and brake disc manufacturing. Brake discs are made through a sand-casting process using sand as the mould material, they are then cleaned which is a difficult process. Now, machine-vision inspection systems can capture images of the discs as they pass through the inspection tunnel in the production line. I.D.E.A.’s new system can check for sand and any defects on the disc’s surface to ensure high levels of quality.
“With human inspectors, it is natural that product samples, especially those close to the limit between good and bad, will be assessed differently by different operators,” said Pistilli. “The likelihood of these differences increases after operators have worked a few hours and are tired. But, with our machine vision system, in addition to the enhanced quality control, inspections are repeatable 24 hours a day and the machines perform faster than any operator could, and the user interface is so easy to use, it’s like using a tablet.”
Luca Gallo, Senior Manager of Machine Vision, Southern Europe at Zebra Technologies concludes, “The automotive industry requires the highest levels of quality and compliance from its suppliers and partners, which is why machine vision solutions are needed across the automotive supply chain. Zebra and our partners provide user-friendly solutions, and the tools engineers and developers need to increase efficiency, power innovation, and optimise the frontline with new ways of working.”